Myriad
by Vyache Kharlamov
Summary: *SPOILERS* Postgame. A familiar face takes up the mantle of Eden Fal'cie after Orphan's demise. Story follows the new conflict between the new Fal'cie and the remaining group.
1. A Fal'cie Is Born

**First fanfiction, but not the first publication on my part. This chapter opens at the end of Orphan's battle taking a different approach to the story from a much darker opinion of Final Fantasy XIII after the chaos of Cocoon's Fall…**

**Disclaimer: I do not have rights to the wonderful Square Enix creation**

POST-APOCALYPTIC COCOON

The quicksilver pool was all that remained of Orphan the Abandoned, the martyred Fal'cie who sacrificed himself for the greater good: a desire to bring back the Maker and right all the wrongs in the universe. As Lightning and company were blown out of Orphan's Cradle and the crystalysis of Cocoon ensued, a lone figure stood before Orphan's Throne, white cape billowing out behind him.

"Oh Barthandelus, I can do much more to summon the Maker without your eccentric methods. It is my turn now. The dawning of my age. I am Cid Raines no more."

The fallen L'cie descended into the depths of the quicksilver, breathing in as he walked lower and lower. Slowly the quicksilver condensed to one point above Raines; at the apex of his breathing the fluid funneled down his throat. Every memory ever belonging to the Fal'cie Barthandelus was now at Raines' disposal.

"I shall now be known as Myriad, the Fal'cie of New Eden."

**FFVK…**

Lightning Farron, Snow Villiers, Hope Estheim, and Sazh Katzroy stood on the Archylte Steppe frozen in crystalysis on the surface of Gran Pulse as Oerba Yun Fang and Oerba Dia Vanille sacrificed themselves to save the floating world of Cocoon. The transformation into Ragnarok proved to trigger their crystalysis, however the magic of their love proved to be just enough to hold up Cocoon in the sky. They would be gone forever. The final blast of magic, as a result, knocked the remaining party back into reality as Serah Farron and Dajh Katzroy appeared on the horizon.

Lightning and Snow ran to Serah in joy, and Sazh picked up Dajh twirling his son around. Hope however, had no one. His jubilant smile faded as reality set in for the fourteen year old: his mother was gone forever, his father was most likely dead, if not in the possession of some very upset C'ieth, and his first crush in Vanille was gone for good. His jealousy for Fang burned hot, as the new adolescent hormones raged through his system, almost as if his jolt back to life jump started his feelings.

**FFVK…**

As night fell Cocoon began to light up slowly. The group stared mystified at the dwarf planet confused as to how order had been restored so quickly. The group paused as they were setting up camp on the trail heading towards Oerba. Although there may possibly be other settlements on Pulse, Oerba is the closest and with a little clean-up operation, the houses could become a decent place to live until Cocoon accepts her saviors.

Hope became a recluse, removing himself from all conversation where he only spoke at meal times and spent his time suffering in his misery. Snow had spent every minute with Serah, informing her of their journey and planning their wedding. Sazh told Dajh of the wild chocobos and all the sights of Pulse, and Lightning stood guard to keep the wild beasts away. As they stood around the fire staring up at Cocoon, ships blotted out the newly glowing sphere.

An intercom blared across the sky "L'cie! We know you are down there, do not try to run. There is someone rather eager to make your acquaintance."

Everyone stood, ready to flee at Lightning's command. Snow covered Serah protectively, Sazh slowly upholstered his pistols while standing over the sleeping Dajh, and Hope opened his boomerang. Lightning however had learned much in her travels and simply holstered her gunblade.

"Hope, Sazh lower your weapons. I'm curious as to who wants to meet us."

**FFVK…**

A shimmer of light wavered in front of Lightning, and a very familiar face stepped forward. Lightning stepped back slowly, inhaling sharply. Cid Raines was as breathtaking as ever, his pearl white shoes shone with an ethereal light, his gray under-robe radiated with power, and the silver stripes in the fabric imitated the quicksilver of Orphan. The white gloves that encased his hands had an aura of limitless energy. His shoulder guard marked with the glow of the Cavalry had changed, marked now by the silver of Orphan. The white cape was also changed, covered now with ancient symbols depicting a Fal'cie order that only higher beings could understand. His black hair was now bright silver, but still encased his face in the familiar manner as the last time she had seen him. The last thing she noticed were his eyes… instead of the intoxicating blue she had fallen for when she first met him aboard the _Lindblum_, his eyes were replaced with a raptor gaze of silver.

"All living things… every being that walks and breathes... each has its own star. When a life is born, a new star appears: that is the guardian star. The star that warms this planet is someone's guardian star as well. The red star you see overhead… and when a life ends, the star falls and disappears. His star is about to fall... I have dreamt it. Do not fear death. Death is always at our side. When we show fear, it jumps at us faster than light. But if we do not show fear, it casts its eye upon us gently… and then guides us into infinity. The Maker has truly abandoned us. It is now the time to raise the bar. If the destruction of Cocoon meant nothing to our Maker, perhaps Pulse may hold a place in His heart."

"Raines!" Lightning had finally found her voice. "You look... different."

"The being you once knew as Cid Raines is no longer. I am Myriad, Fal'cie of New Eden. I am not here for pleasantries. You will do my bidding." The being spoke in a surrounding tone, ominous and deadly, yet his voice never rose above a whisper.

"Well then, Myriad, I refuse." Lightning flicked her gunblade back out, however hundreds of red dots pinpointed all over her body, threatening her to move.

"Lightning Farron... do not defy me. I am much more powerful than any Fal'cie you have faced before. I see you are no longer branded by Anima. I can change that." Myriad threw his arms out wide, and suddenly all went black. A monstrous creature surrounded in shadow loomed over the group. Light shot out and silver tendrils bound all members of the party, the difference between Anima's attack and Myriad's was that the tendrils were less primal, the need less demanding, almost civilized in a way. Ironically enough, the branding occured in exactly the same place on each of their bodies as last time. Lightning's brand was on her breast, Sazh on his chest, Hope on his left wrist, Serah on her upper left arm, Snow on his right hand, and finally Dajh on his right hand, too. A nostalgic experience flashes through all of their minds, a mere glimpse of their Focus. A flaming giant flashes across their minds, the death cries of billions echo in their ears, an enormous tremor vibrates across the emptiness, and everyone blacks out.


	2. Hopeless Revenge

**I'm slowly working my way around the starting story ADD. Here comes chapter two, following the group's newfound Cocoon L'cie powers, which I made different for reorientation purposes. **

**Disclaimer: I do not have the rights to any of Square Enix's games**

ARK BENEATH EDEN

The change in atmosphere was what first woke Lightning from her shock-induced coma. The humid warmth of Gran Pulse was now replaced with a metallic musk, remnant of Pulse Automata and Bombs. "What are we doing here?" Lightning spoke groggily to anyone and no one, mainly to herself, yet welcoming a response.

From her left, Sazh returned with a growl, "We're back in the Ark. But why? We are Cocoon l'cie, no? What point is there for bringing us here, we are trained enough already."

Hope had been up for a few minutes already and had oriented himself. "My magic is back, but there's something wrong with it. I can't summon enough strength for my stronger spells. We have to retrain our bodies, being weakened by our loss of l'cie status after surviving our Focus."

Snow was awake now, "Speaking of Focus, any ideas as to our new one? Did we all have the same dream like last time?"

Lightning rolled her eyes, "That depends Snow, what did you see?"

Snow blundered, "Yeah, I mean, I was getting to that!"

Suddenly, Sazh yelled out, "Where is Dajh?"Snow looked around in fear, "NO! Serah is gone, too!"

"Light?" Hope walked slowly towards her, "Surely Cid didn't…"

Her voice came with venom, shaking with anger, "I am going to kill him."

Rather out of character for Snow, he responded with possibly more hate than Lightning, "Not if I kill him first. I did not go through hell and back only to have her taken away once more. She deserves happiness, and I will give it to her. Will you help me, or will I do this alone?"

Before Lightning could respond, Sazh spoke up, "He took my son away from me. Nothing comes between a father and his son. I am with you my friend. Let us get our revenge."

Hope rushed between the men, jumping up and down waving his hands to get their attention. "Wait! Revenge is not the outlet for your sorrow. Don't make the mistake I made. We need to get our heads together, figure out what Raines wants."

Lightning shot Hope a look, "That _thing_ is not Raines. It is the next Fal'cie we need to kill. Enough is enough, we need to end Fal'cie rule once an for all."

Hope's face lit up, "That is exactly what _Myriad_ wants!"

Sazh interjected, "Orphan all over again? Didn't we prove that didn't matter?"

"Perhaps he wants two more of us to sacrifice ourselves until there is no one left?" Snow articulated.

Lightning immediately shot down Snow, "He would need L'cie to do his bidding, if he needed us out of the way, we would be."

Hope finally grabbed the attention back, "You are not thinking of the vision! We are not supposed to kill him like Barthandelus, but I think he wants us to kill Titan! If Titan died, the ecosystem of Gran Pulse would die. With the deaths of every creature, plant, and Ci'eth, the Maker would surely have to intervene."

The other three went wide-eyed in realization, and Hope's adrenaline stopped short as his mind caught up with his mouth.

"Dear Maker, how do we get away with not killing Titan and stay alive?"

"We don't. There is no possible way for us to kill Titan… remember his trials? They were tough enough! He wouldn't feel anything. He eats Guis on a regular basis, we can hardly kill them without elixirs and summons! What could we do to kill him?" Hope asked frantically.

"I stand by my original thought: Kill Myriad." Lightning offered.

"I agree. I will marry Serah once and for all!" Snow added.

Sazh looked at Hope, "I'm sorry kid, but you just don't know how it feels to have your son ripped away from you, twice."


	3. A New Magic

**So my updates will probably come every third day, all depending upon how focused I am on clearing up all documents for entering Spring semester college. This chapter involves memory relapses, a very beat down Ark, and dark clouds following all characters. I've had plenty of hits but only one review, so… R&R please =].**

BENEATH EDEN'S ARK… STILL

**FFVK…**

The three in agreement began to head off to scope out the remnants of the Ark, and how the aftermath of the war would have changed it. Hope, standing in deep thought. A story his father once told him formed in his mind.

"_Son, there once was a tiger striped cat. This cat had died a million deaths, revived and lived a million lives. And he was owned by various people whom he didn't really care for. The cat wasn't afraid to die. Then one day the cat became a stray cat., which meant he was free. He met a white female cat and the two of them spent their days together happily. Years passed and the white cat grew weak and died of old age. The tiger striped cat cried a million times and eventually he died too. Except this time, he didn't come back to life. Do not be that cat. Living and reliving your past will be the death of you, live on in the present and be free…"_

Hope shook his head in remembrance, and in doing so realized everyone had left.

"Guys? Where did you go?" his voice echoed in the cavernous Ark. No sounds of combat reverberated off the pillars, no whispers, nothing; Hope was truly alone. He hesitantly pulled out his Nue boomerang, not sure as to how the Cocoon magic would change his battle schemata. Scraping of metal resounded throughout the room he just walked into, however he simply wondered where the others could have gone.

A Pulse Automata dragged around a corner, wobbling weakly towards Hope due to its missing leg and overbalanced to its right side because of a missing left appendage. Hope nearly ran into it, his mind completely in the past and just managed to duck out of its pathetic way. He quickly attempted to summon upon a thunder magic, remember from his fights of old that the machine-based enemies were weak to it. To his dismay, the magic did not spark to life as anticipated. The machine swung again at the mildly confused Hope and connected with his shoulder, sending him flying into a pillar. The already weak foundation of the pillar crumbled and a section of the roof began to cave in, bringing dust and debris hailing down upon the battered Hope. He held up his hands in defense and a Protectra shield bubbled up.

"It seems my defensive spells have been strengthened, and offensive practically nullified…" Hope mused to himself, trying to click random spells, testing their effectiveness. However, as the machine lumbered closer and touched the Protectra bubble, the metal began to hiss and melt away, until the mindless automata crumbled into a pile of scraps.

"I need to let the others know before they stumble upon something not quite as defenseless as that machine!" Hope struggled to his feet and bolted off in the direction leading to the Pit.

**FFVK…**

HIGH SEAT OF EDEN

"General Raines, sir! I have news about the status on the Crystal Pillar, as per your orders, sir!"

Myriad the Reborn looked upon the breathless soldier from the Guardian Corps with calm, dead eyes. "Report."

"Sir, it seems as though there is no beginning nor end to the crystalline structure, it permeates the entirety of Cocoon's core and encases much of Pulse's surface. The two L'cie you spoke of were not to be found, but it is believed they are to be in the core of the Crystal Pillar."

"Thank you, Sergeant, your information is well received. Update me to any changes, you are dismissed."

As the door hissed behind the sergeant upon departure, Myriad mused to himself, "Oh the Pulse L'cie who saved Cocoon… how you mock me so. I will bring the Maker back, and you will be joining my game soon enough."


	4. Nostalgia

**I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday for my American readers. Back to business, this chapter follows Sazh, Light, and Snow and how they get separated from Hope. As with last chapter I will include a brief respite from the action to see what Myriad is up to. Read and review please! =D**

**Disclaimer: As always, everything belongs to Square Enix**

ARK BENEATH EDEN-THE PIT

**FFVK…**

Lightning, trailed by Snow and Sazh, walked at a brisk pace toward the empty pit. The random steel beams that jutted out from the walls served as stepping stones to the bottom of the pit, and she did just that, trying to get to the Eidolon bridge created by Fang's Bahamut. The memory jarred Lightning short, Snow almost bumping into her. Sazh brought up the rear and remarked on her sudden change in pace.

"You see something, Light?" his hands went to his Total Eclipses holstered at his side.

"No, let's keep moving." came the terse reply, not willing to show emotion at losing Fang and Vanille.

As she jumped down to the next steel I-beam, a Skirtini blindsided Snow and knocked him over the edge. Sazh, his hands already at arms, shot the Skirtini and attempted to summon Brynhildr, but failed. Lightning already launched off and realized too late that Odin was no longer her Eidolon to summon. In free fall, she tried to activated her anti-gravity unit but was again foiled by never having fixed it since Sazh shorted it out at Hanging Edge.

Sazh, not knowing what else to do, began jumping from beam to beam as quickly as possible, trying to cast a simple Protect spell on Snow, since he would be the first to hit. Instead, a Protectra spell encased him and Sazh quickly created one around Lightning.

All of a sudden, there were no more beams to jump on, so he looked elsewhere to backtrack to. However, his footing slipped on a wet pipe and he tumbled down, encasing himself with a Protectra.

Lightning had turned her focus to the rushing platform that was home to the exit door, leading to the Tyrant room and the elevators. Every creature native to the Ark seemed to crowd the fast approaching platform: beaks snapping, jaws slobbering, and mechanical arms swinging.

Snow opened his coat a bit, catching air, trying to slow his descent just enough to reorient his fists to be able to avoid being killed immediately and do some killing of his own. Lightning flicked out her gunblade, shooting down a few beasts in the attempt to clear a safer landing. Sazh followed suit, killing most that were damaged already, and his flurry of bullets pushed back the automatons. Snow landed, rolling out the force to cushion his fall and went to work pummeling the damaged machines into submission.

Lightning landed next, converting her gunblade back into a sword hacking away at the flesh of the Ark monsters. Sazh continued to be death from above, finishing off anything Lightning merely grazed, or left for dead, trusting Sazh with her life. Snow made a beeline for the door, not realizing Sazh had not landed yet. Lightning tried to yell for him to stay put, but the sounds of battle drowned out her voice.

The door opened with a hiss, and two Tyrants walked through, almost guarding a Kaiser Behemoth. The Behemoth lumbered through on all fours, not ready for an all out war. Snow began to back peddle, blocking swipes from beasts that got past Sazh's Protectra, returning punches of his own. The Tyrants immediately began summoning swords, and Snow realized he was sorely outmatched, and turned around running back to where Lightning was wearing down the Ark defenders. Sazh finally reached the platform, blitzing everything in sight. With a stable footing, his potshots from the air seemed like nothing. As his perfect shots punctured the rusty metal and rotten flesh of the Ark defense, Lightning could breathe easier, now focusing more on getting to Snow than outright killing.

The summoned swords advanced in front of the Tyrants and Behemoth, now destroying anything in their path. The remaining creatures turned tail and ran away, but the machines lacked the intelligence to do so. The Tyrants crushed the automatons with their feet, swinging around, knocking them into each other, forcing them over the edge with their sheer size, any various means to get at Snow. The Behemoth bid its time, however, inching closer following in the wake of destruction left by the Tyrants.

Sazh finished shooting down any stragglers while Snow and Lightning prepared to face their new threat.

"So, any plans? We can kill these one by one, but all three?" Sazh shouted over his shoulder.

"As always, stagger them to hell and beat them to pieces." Snow smirked.

Lightning, never one for talk during battle, began to summon a chain of Thunder spells to build up the chain gauge. They all backfired, knocking her down momentarily. Sazh tried to fired off a few Fire spells, but received the same result. Snow activated Froststrikes in his fists, and rushed up to punch the first Tyrant's sword. The sword shattered, sending shards flying into the Behemoth. It howled, blinded in one eye. It bull rushed the nearest Tyrant, forcing its legs to buckle and crash down. The other turned on the Behemoth, rearing back to trample it. However, the Behemoth stood up, healed itself, and pulled out its rotating saw. A triple battle ensued with the Tyrants focusing on the Behemoth, the Behemoth attacking anything in sight, and the party wondering what went wrong with their magic.

"Light, use physical magic attacks. Flamestrikes, sparkstrikes, froststrikes, the like. Sazh, you too. Once they stagger, Light switch to One Man Army and Sazh fire your Cold Blood, I'll finish off with my Sovereign Fist. They will go down, just use patience, now that they are distracted we can get out of here quickly." Snow strategized.

The plan worked like clockwork, and the way to the elevator was clear.

**FFVK…**

BASE SITE OF THE CRYSTAL PILLAR

"General Raines, sir! We have located the Pulse L'cie! They are in the very core of the pillar, but we have excavated to the core and will have access to them in days, sir."

"Thank you Lieutenant, your services have been most helpful. Alert me when they are free, for now I must go check on some pressing business. You are dismissed." Myriad walked away, disappearing in a flash.


	5. Reanimation

**Sorry for the long delay, been all over the place the past week and haven't really been able to sit down and write. This chapter will be about Hope trying to catch up to the others. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Square Enix or their stuff.**

**FFVK…**

ARK BENEATH EDEN- THE PIT

Hope found his way to the Pit, avoiding healthy creatures and machines, only having two close encounters where his Protectra spell held up long enough for him to run away.

As he leaned over the Pit, Hope observed the carnage left by Light and company shaking his head in amazement. "Seems they figured it out on their own. Oh well. I still need to catch up, but knowing her, they are probably already to the Maze."

He looked at the I-beams sticking out from the side of the Pit wall, and decided to not jump from beam to beam, erring on the side of exhilaration and jumped for it instead. In his mind, he saw himself slipping, missing, or running out of beams, so instead he chose to control his fall with magic.

The air hissed by as Hope fell, no sounds reached his ears. That was what unnerved him the most, not the rushing platform he needed to stick, else risking bouncing and going over the edge, but the silence. He took a second to glance around and saw nothing to warrant his fears, yet his instincts screamed to keep up his guard.

He slammed into the platform, rolling to absorb the shock as Snow had taught him long ago. He opened his mind to the flow of magic, not entirely sure what spell to call upon. He stepped gingerly over the mass of bodies both of the flesh and metal, wary of any movement in case they moved on without killing to take less time.

"From the looks of things, most have bullets in their heads, or have been utterly destroyed. Efficiently taken care of. This was their doing, all right." Hope muttered to himself as he made his way toward the door.

Just as he reached the door, a collective gasp groaned, shaking the platform with its severity. Hope turned around slowly, throwing up all guards, not sure whether this encounter would be physical or of the arcane. The confirmed dead all began to rise to their feet, headless corpses lumbered, mangled faces grinned, and soulless eyes gazed at everything and nothing. No machines rose, but Hope could really care less, focusing on these abominations.

"I'm doomed." Hope began to bang on the door that was not budging. The closest creatures ran into his shields, and their skin began to slacken and fall off of their bones. Hope felt the drain to his energy immediately. The bones did not simply fall done without ligaments, tendons, and cartilage to hold them together. A foreign magic seemed to encase the bones and they continued to strike at Hope's defenses. Every strike disintegrated the bones little by little, but the adverse effect on his stamina was taking a toll.

Hope figured his safest bet would be to avoid them altogether, but his only offense is his defense, and it cannot last forever. Eventually, he will run out of energy to maintain his magic flow and they will have the opportunity to strike a fatal blow. The mindless attack perturbed Hope greatly.

"We have never encountered anything like this on Pulse. What we killed stayed dead. What magic is this?" He continued to attempt conjuring an offensive magic, but continued to fail. He pulled out his Nue to try and physically immobilize the creatures but stared in dismay at the boomerang.

"This won't kill these things. My only option is to herd them over the edge." He backed himself toward one of the sides and looked down to the depths below.

Weak growls rose from the bottom from reanimated corpses protesting their position in the fight. Hope returned his attention to the creatures in front of him. They prepared to launch another assault on his shield, and just as they jumped Hope deactivated the shield, falling to the ground as the creatures flew over his head, over the edge. He stood up self-satisfied, turning back to the door.

An undead Behemoth roared its arrival, covering Hope in spittle. He frantically tried to reactivate his shield, but found himself too tired to do so. A claw swiped at his head as Hope ducked, rolling away to keep some distance. Hope pulled out his Nue and hardened the edge with magic, figuring a defensive spell of such a small magnitude would not drain his energy and could act offensively when attached to a weapon, much like a Bravera spell but concentrated on the magical aspects of the weapon.

The undead Behemoth approached Hope without intelligence, aiming only to eat. Hope threw the boomerang as hard as he could, striking the Behemoth directly on the snout. The magic edge split the nose open, following through and cut the head in half. The boomerang continued its course through the air, returning to Hope.

The drain on his energy was minimal, and he only staggered slightly. After composing himself, Hope finally walked over to the door. It refused to open by motion, so he pulled out his boomerang, reinforced it with magic, jammed it into the door crack. After he jigged the locking mechanism, the door hissed open.

**FFVK…**

THE CRYSTAL PILLAR EXCAVATION SITE

Myriad appeared in the midst of the miners, causing one to drop his mining laser which caused the pant leg of another to catch on fire. After the brief chaos, the project supervisor made his way over to the Fal'cie.

"General Raines, what are you doing here? We didn't expect you until we were done."

"I can no longer wait, my plans must come into fruition much sooner than expected."

"What plans?"

"Let me whisper them so as not to be overheard," Myriad leaned in and with a muttered spell, the project supervisor had a brain aneurism and blood leaked from his eyes and ears. "Do not question my intentions. Simply obey."

Myriad brought his hands together as if in prayer, fingers clasped, and slowly spread his arms out wide. As he did so, the crystal shimmered and moved fluidly to the side, revealing the slumbering Pulse L'cie.

He muttered a few more spells under his breath, and walked into the crystal tomb. He placed a hand over each woman's heart, whispering all the while. He stepped back and the crystalline women broke free of the surrounding crystal. They spun into a whirlwind and the crystal encasing their bodies began to dissolve.

Oerba Dia Vanille and Oerba Yun Fang lay at Myriad's feet still asleep, not awake just yet. "Awaken, my dears. You have work to do…"


	6. A Battle Reunion

**This chapter will finally end the Ark expedition, however complications arrive in the form of the past. Lightning, Sazh, Snow, and Hope finally come together again. If any beta readers would like to pick up my story to help with the plotline, please feel free to send me a message!**

**Disclaimer: Only own my imagination**

**FFVK…**

ARK BENEATH EDEN- THE VAULTS

Sazh leaned back against a concrete block watching Lightning pace back and forth in disgust. Snow decided to plop down beside Sazh after giving up looking for a way out. Lightning pulled out a whetstone and began sharpening her gunblade furiously, muttering all the while.

"The Eidolon bridge is gone. How are we supposed to get out? Even with the bridge, there is no ship for us to fly. We have no means of getting to the Pulse gate. Damn it!" at the last point, her whetstone slipped from her hand, and the gunblade sliced deep into her flesh.

Snow jumped up summoning a Cure spell to heal her hand. To his surprise the magic changed to a Curasa spell. Lightning yelped at the over stimulation to her nerve endings. Sazh fell over the concrete block laughing, while Snow stared baffled at his hands. Lightning shot them both a glare, deciding to return her weapon to its holster and sit down.

After a few moments, Sazh stood up to stretch and the door opened before him. He whipped out his guns, firing off two shots. The figure cried out after stumbling through the opening, rolling to avoid further shots.

**FFVK…**

"Stop shooting at me!" Hope yelled out.

"Hope?" Lightning stared incredulously at the quivering body in the fetal position.

"Yes, it's me. Now don't shoot!"

"Sorry kid, I thought you were another creature. They just keep coming, I don't understand it." Sazh lamented.

"Yeah, all those you killed on your way down here came back to life." Hope stated bluntly.

The silence that followed thickened the atmosphere enough to stop a blade. Lightning was the first to shatter the quiet.

"That is ridiculous. What I didn't mortally wound, Sazh shot in the head to finish off."

She scoffed, turning away from them.

Hope smirked, "You don't believe me, then?"

"No, not at all."

"Fine, try me. I just had to fight off all of your mistakes."

"Fine, open the door."

"Idiot." Hope waved his hand in front of the plate on the wall. "See you in a few."

**FFVK…**

The door groaned shut behind her. Lightning carelessly shouted out to the others, "I see nothing coming back to life. As a matter of fact, I see nothing dead or alive…" she realized what she just said.

"Snow, how many things did we just kill getting here?"

His voice weakly came through the metal door. "Forty Stikini, forty-two Skata'ne, forty Alchemic Oozes, sixty Noctilucale, and twelve Behemoths… not including the machines."

"The bodies are all gone. The metal parts remaining from the automata are still here, but anything organic is gone."

Hope shouted back, "Enough, you see that I'm right. Get back in here!"

"Just because the bodies are gone doesn't mean…" Lightning's voice was cut short by a chorus of growls and roars echoing down the hallway. "Open the door! That is way too many for me to handle alone!"

"We're trying, Light! The door won't budge!" Hope yelled back, frantic at putting her in the current predicament.

Lightning stuck her gunblade into the door center, but then gave up. "Find a way quickly guys, because here they come."

Hope grew flustered with the wall unit, deciding on trying his trick from earlier. He asked Sazh to focus his magic on the bullets to harden the edges, so he can shoot through the door. I will harden the edge of my boomerang and slide it into the crack to jig the lock. Between the two of us, it should work at opening the door." As an afterthought, "Light, stay away from the center of the hallway, Sazh is going to be shooting through it."

"He's going to what? That will limit my ability to defend myself!" She responded, warily waiting for the beasts to round the corner.

"Just stay away from the center of the hallway!" Hope yelled again.

She reluctantly did as he said, and stood to the side. Shots began to ring out, just as the creatures emerged. A few bullets screamed through the steel, hitting the leading creatures. They went down, and the following creatures simply walked over them. However, after a few seconds, they lumbered back to their feet. Lightning held up her gunblade firing precision shots into the heads of the creatures, but after two more waves of creatures file in, they stand back up.

"Hurry up a little!" Lightning's voice quivered, unnerved by enemies that she cannot kill.

"Almost there… Got it!" Hope jammed the locking mechanism and the door began to open. At exactly the same moment, the metal being shot by Sazh left jagged pieces that fell into the slots the door would slide through to open. Only a thin sliver of the door opened.

"Hope, you idiot!" Lightning yelled behind her. She continued shooting, and gave up deferring to her blade form.

Sazh moved Hope out of the way, firing as quickly as possibly to provide Lightning cover fire. Snow stood directly behind Sazh offering his help. He flexed his muscles and pushed as hard as he could.

Lightning had now backed up to the door and was fighting off three Skata'ne that had already been shot several times in the head. She decapitated one, cutting off the wings of the other two. They continued to swing their bodies closer to her, trying to spin and kick but lacked the balance to do so. Lightning could not see an end to the mob, so she simply decided to disarm the creatures and let them flounder with nothing to do about it.

The door shuddered under Snow's strength, and he felt it move an inch. "Sis, I think I can open it. How much longer can you hold out?"

"Doesn't matter! Get the door open!" She continued hacking away, beginning to start sweating. "On second thought, I need it open now!"

As Sazh continued to shoot down anything he could see, Hope squeezed through the opening to help Lightning last longer.

"Light, hone the edge of your weapon with magic. Focus a Protect spell onto your weapon instead of yourself. Not only will you cut easier, you will save energy and be able to disarm more efficiently." Taking his own advice, he threw his boomerang slicing the right wings off of ten Stikini, and the left ones on the boomerang's return.

"Very nice, Hope. Great idea." Lightning praised, while decapitating the most recent wave. The pile of undead bodies were piling up and the door was still not open. "Snow, what is taking you so long?"

"Oh now you start to rely on my strength! I'm trying my best!" he retorted, returning his focus on opening the door.

The pause in action as a wave of Noctilucale struggled over the pile, Hope turned around to inspect the door. He found the shards of metal clogging up the door, and used his boomerang to jimmy the pieces out. As soon as the pieces were clear, Snow slammed the door open.

Sazh grabbed Hope's tunic and yanked him backward as a Noctilucale jumped his way. Snow did the same to Lightning because she was too focused on the battle to realize the door had been reopened.

When the four of them caught their breath, Lightning noticed the creatures had stopped their assault at the door. "What are they doing?"

No sooner than her comment came a response, "Hey there Sunshine, long time, eh?"

"Fang?" all four recognized incredulously.


End file.
